Raymond Blanc is ready to pick up where he left off and launch the second series of The Restaurant.

For those who missed it first time around, this BBC series offers the winning couple the chance to run their own restaurant.

"I was very happy to do another series," Blanc explains.

"It's a stressful process, as much for the contestants as it is for me. But this time the responsibility doesn't just fall on me but is shared with my good friends, David and Sarah."

The addition of industry professional mentors Sarah Willingham and David Moore for the second series - a la The Apprentice - is something Blanc appreciates. And not just because it gives the French chef who now lives in Oxfordshire a chance to catch up with two friends.

Blanc takes his duties on the programme very seriously and wants all the competitors to learn the skills needed to be a restaurateur whether they win or not - something he's certain Sarah and David can help with.

"What this programme shows is what you can get out of people and how good mentoring and careful training goes a long way."

Unlike other celebrity chef programmes you won't see Blanc, or new mentors Moore and Willingham, shouting at the contestants when they do something wrong.

"We always try to be respectful with the contestants. There's no swearing.

"We tend to get frustrated if people make the same mistake over and over again and we'll tell people our opinions but there's nothing to be gained from loosing our cool with them," Moore explains.

Blanc adds: "Not only is there nothing to gain but there's a lot to lose. Television often needs to be sensationalist. People will be completely deconstructed and liquidised in front of the nation. But do you think someone will grow with that fear of being undermined physically or verbally? I don't think so. That certainly doesn't happen in my kitchen or on the programme."

"People are used to seeing a cooking programme where the kitchen is full of aggression and shouting. No, a good kitchen is quiet, a good kitchen is where everyone is focussed. When someone throws their passion in and gets aggressive then that's usually a bad kitchen."

However Blanc admits that he only gained these skills through personal experience.

"I've had to do my own learning and made my own mistakes. Over the last 15 years I've learnt that if there is a problem with service then I'll talk about it later and quietly when people are not tired and stressed."

However, while Blanc may be mild mannered, it doesn't mean the contestants are in for an easy ride.

Willingham explains: "It's extraordinary how people respond to this environment, it's surprising what nerves do to people and you'll see it again and again."

"It's an easy industry to fail in. What you see from some of the people who come on, and people at home might dream of doing the same thing, they'll say, 'We'll just open a nice little pub on the corner and it'll be easy because the locals will come in'. The reality is, to get to that point when you get the locals in is really hard. And to be a success is even harder. You see these places and people crumble because they have no idea how hard it is."

With the economic downturn, the three experts explain that the pressure of running a restaurant is only going to get harder.

"For anyone opening a restaurant, it's a frightening experience. And even for top professionals who've done it 10 times before. If you miss something you're going to be in trouble," states Blanc.

"Just look at how many restaurants fail, and that's even when professional people have opened them, not amateurs."

Willingham adds: "The figures this year for closure have been higher than ever. It's addressed in the series. All contestants are in Bristol this year, so they're all competing against each other and so it feels like they're competing for their lives, as the rest of the people in the restaurant business are doing."

Talking about the industry Blanc continues: "It will be interesting to see what happens over the next six or seven months, it will be reveal the strengths of the good restaurateurs and the weaknesses of the lesser ones. A lot of people have managed to keep their businesses running but struggling. Over the next six months you'll get to see serious changes in the industry."

However, even with restaurateurs facing a tough future, this hasn't put people off the idea of running their own eatery and thousands applied for the show this year. Yet they don't always make a good first impression.

"I always worry. It's always frightening. The first time you see them you think 'My God, what have I got into?'" Blanc admits.

He is also faced with the not unusual occurrence of one member of a couple outshining the other.

"That is the most common problem" Blanc explains. "It would be great if we could say, 'Couple A, should actually be that person and someone from couple B'. That would be perfect. But we can't. I could end up in jail if we did that!"

"The other problem we have is getting to know the contestants. Some are very shy and it takes them a while to get confident enough to show off their skills. Some are over-confident, and then they come into place and show their true colours."

As for who Blanc's got his money on to win the series, the chef is keeping this a surprise. But he does give one hint.

"The couple who will win are the ones which take on the most of our feedback, and will listen to what we say!"